Strategic Solutions Network (SSN) will welcome an estimated 400 executives from leading retailers, banks, carriers and technology companies to attend the Mobile Contactless Payments Summit October 17-18th, 2011 at the W Chicago City Center.

The 3rd Mobile Contactless Payment Innovations Summit is part of the Alternative Payment Systems Innovations (APSI) series of conferences featuring the top visionaries in the mobile space who will examine the disruptive nature, promises and challenges of the rapidly evolving mobile payments industry.

“We have developed the agenda to focus on the most advanced and value-added developments within mobile payments. This has resulted in over threefold audience growth since our Inaugural event last October,” comments SSN CEO, Aron Barkan. “This illustrates that contactless payments is not just a trend, but will soon become a ubiquitous and universally adopted global solution.”

Conference organizers note that senior executives should incorporate a sophisticated mobile payments strategy into their overall business plan. The World Payments Report 2011 projects that mobile payments will grow globally from 4.6 billion to 15.3 billion transactions between 2010 and 2013 – at a rate of 48.8 percent per year.

Additionally, a new study from Juniper Research has determined that the total value of mobile payments for digital and physical goods, money transfers and NFC (Near Field Communications) transactions will reach $670 billion by 2015, up 178% from the $240 billion estimated for 2011.

Back in November, Google’s Eric Schmidt teased the crowd at Web 2.0 about Google’s plans for NFC mobile payments using the Android OS, and introduced the Samsung Nexus S running Gingerbread and an NFC chip by NXP. It turns out that as early as August, according to the 451 Group, a technology industry Analyst company, Google also had purchased Canadian stealth startup Zetawire, which likely has a product built around a payment, identity management and advertising system, based on Zetawire’s open patent application.

Google is moving quickly into the mobile payment arena, but with Google, it’s a lot more than just payments. The company has also been active around location-based and mobile marketing and advertising with the launch of the more robust Google Places and its new Hotspot service. Now, with Near Field Communication (NFC) coming closer to reality (led by Google’s Android OS Nexus S smartphone), the company is increasingly well-positioned to capitalize on the coming boom in mobile payments:

Google Places and Hotspot, a fast-growing directory of businesses, along with a Marketing/Advertising platform (remember, Google controls online search results also, which often display Google Places company listings)

Mobile marketing

Google Checkout

Now covering the spectrum of actions from the search, to the ad or merchant listing, to the click, to the promotion coupon to the payment, Google has a lot of touch-points to profit from, and to track ROI.

While some of Google’s previous efforts to branch out its offering of services have withered (Social Networking, for example), the company caught a huge break while Apple’s iPhone was stuck at ATT by launching the very successful Android OS for a generation of smartphones running on alternate networks such as Verizon’s. By August of this year, Nielsen reported that new smartphone subscribers choosing Android phones were at 27 percent, surpassing Apple iPhone’s 23% share.

On Track Innovations has introduced their new mobile payment system which enables existing mobile phones to support Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality and contactless payments.

The company’s Contactless Payment and NFC Insert (COPNI) is an add-on to mobile phones’ SIM cards with a flexible antenna. The mobile payment system is independent of the handset type and model, and lets users have one device that is both a mobile phone and a mobile wallet. It is compatible with carriers’ current infrastructure. Mobile phones equipped with COPNI can be used in a broad range of payment applications simply by tapping the phone near a contactless reader. Payments are automatically confirmed and deducted from consumers’ bank accounts, credit cards or pre-paid accounts.

“OTI’s new mobile payment system will allow consumers to easily add NFC functionality to their current mobile phone,” said Oded Bashan, chairman and CEO, OTI. “Our patented technology provides mobile operators and financial institutions/issuers with a quick-to-market NFC solution using the existing infrastructure. It offers them a way to get into the mobile payment market while expanding their customer base and generating increased revenues.”

COPNI supports existing contactless payment applications from major card associations, mass transit ticketing (with MIFARE support) as well as loyalty programs and other proprietary programs. According to the company, potential applications include:

Mass transit ticketing – instead of presenting cash or swiping a card at the turnstile, consumers just tap their phone near a contactless reader to proceed through the turnstile

Information retrieval – gives consumers the ability to view the current balance of their mobile wallet, and also allows their mobile handsets to receive and instantly download information from their surroundings (retail store, museum, etc.)

E-coupons – coupons downloaded to their wireless phone can be redeemed in retail stores at checkout

Samsung has announced a new NFC chip with flash memory, adding to the momentum around Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that will enable point-of-sale payments via mobile phone.

NFC is a short-range (up to 10cm or 4inches), high frequency wireless communication technology which allows devices such as smart phones to collect or transmit data to another NFC-enabled device without manual configuration to identify devices. In addition, NFC chip can play a role as a contactless smartcard in use for public transportation payments for bus and subway fares and mobile banking payments. It can also read RFID tags in retail stores or on outdoor billboards for convenient on-the-spot data access.

The announcement comes at about the same time as Google announced the Samsung-made Nexus S — the first phone to use the new Android OS called Gingerbread. The camera comes with built-in NFC technology, as well as a front and rear-facing camera to enable video conferencing.

“NFC is recognized throughout the industry as an easy and effective way to transmit encrypted information between mobile devices or between mobile devices and other stationary NFC-enabled devices such as kiosks,” said Tae-Hoon Kim, vice president of DDI and C&M marketing, System LSI Division, Samsung Electronics. “As momentum builds for adoption of NFC technology in next-generation/ upcoming smart phones, we look forward to securing a competitive footing in NFC-based solutions with our new NFC technology, offering powerful mobile characteristics such as low power design and advanced RF sensitivity.”

The Samsung NFC chip will be ready for mass production in Q1 2011.

Samsung is well established in releasing Android smartphones, and with Android smartphones now holding a 23% market share, Samsung seems well positioned to ride the wave toward NFC mobile payments.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore has issued a Call for Collaboration (CFC) to accelerate the proliferation and adoption in Singapore of mobile payment services using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, a secure form of short-range wireless technology built on open standards.

With NFC, consumers can use their phones to make a wide variety of payments, including credit card payments as well as most CEPAS e-payment services using FlashPay and ez-link cards, simply by holding the phone in front of card readers.

The CFC would be awarded by June, 2011, and the target date for commercial rollout of the NFC payment system is February, 2012.

Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer, and mobile wallet generally refer to payment services operated under financial regulation and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cash, cheque, or credit cards, a consumer can use a mobile phone to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods.

Although the concept of using non-coin-based currency systems has a long history, it is only recently that the technology to support such systems has become widely available.

In developing countries mobile payment solutions have been deployed as a means of extending financial services to the community known as the “unbanked” or “underbanked,” which is estimated to be as much as 50% of the world’s adult population, according to Financial Access’ 2009 Report “Half the World is Unbanked”. These payment networks are often used for micropayments.

Mobile payments – simply using your mobile to pay for something – is relatively new but already one of the fast growing alternative payment methods catching on in Europe and Asia. Juniper Researchers estimate that mobile payments in the combined global market is forecast to reach over $600 billion worldwide by 2013. What do mobile payments mean in real terms and what options are already out there?

By 2013, according to Juniper Researchers, this type of payment in the global combined payments market could grow from its current $170 billion to over $600 billion. So what are mobile payments and what are the options? There are four primary methods for mobile payments :

Direct Mobile Billing is used as an option at checkout on e-commerce sites involving a PIN and a password. It is deemed secure, fast, convenient and much easier to use than online payment methods such as PayPal. This method is very popular in many parts of Asia and the preferred method of payment for purchases with digital content.

Mobile Web Payments (WAP) where the user has already downloaded applications onto their mobiles to enable payment to be made. Again this method is reportedly easy to use with high reported follow-on sales and good customer reviews.

Premium SMS based payments can be made when the user sends their payment request via SMS text message or they can use a short code and a premium charge is then added to their phone bill. The payment information is then relayed back to the retailer and the sale is completed. This type of payment can be time-consuming if the text messaging speed is slow to send and this method is a less popular option than mobile web payments and direct mobile billing.

Contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) is used by a consumer with a mobile equipped with smartcard waves near a reader module and can be used in actual stores or for transportation services. The payment can be then deducted from a pre-paid account, bank account or charged to the mobile bill. Whilst popular in Japan this method of mobile payment requires a complex supporting infrastructure. This is probably the least popular method in global terms.

Source: TXT2Get —
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